"Daily existence is increasingly that of despair, depression, and derangement, punctuated by news of the latest serial murder spree or global eco-disaster, consumed as horrible entertainments in the emptiness." - John Zerzan

Friday, July 15, 2011

Weblog

Lying liars tend to lie to you (James Brovard, American Conservative)
"Politicians nowadays treat Americans like medical orderlies treat Alzheimer’s patients, telling them anything that will keep them subdued."

The University of California is cutting back on many things, but not on its diversity programs(Heather Mac Donald, City Journal, via the iSteve blog)
"The main purpose of the UC Berkeley Initiative for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion seems to be to buy for the academic identity racket the respectability that no amount of campus mau-mauing has yet been able to achieve. 'Area studies such as ethnic studies, queer studies and gender studies tend to be marginalized and viewed as less essential to the university than such fields as engineering, law or biology,' glumly noted the press release."

Salt cravings may be the origin of all human addiction behavior (Tim Barribeau, io9)
"All humans crave salt once in a while. The desire is hardwired into an ancient part of our brains, the hypothalamus, because we need it to keep our bodies working properly. Now it looks like some of the more addictive drugs out there could be co-opting this neurological system — which means our desire for salt is what underlies our cravings for everything from heroin to coffee."

Some thoughts on the higher-education bubble and the unemployment rate(Survival Blog)
"Combine those easy student loans with state-sponsored universities which create fluffy degrees in order to attract more debt-leveraged students, and you have a job market that will never recover. The student loan bubble will burst. And it will burst on the backs of young families just trying to survive."

The science of fanboyism (Slashdot)
Our brains unconsciously develop an affinity for products we choose over similarly attractive alternatives.

Mexican drug cartels now building their own military-style assault vehicles (John P. Sullivan and Adam Elkus, Small Wars Journal)
"Known alternatively as 'narco-tanks' (narcotanques), 'Rhino trucks,' and 'monster trucks' (monstruos), the crude armored vehicles emerging in Mexico’s cartel war are evidence of a changing tactical logic on the ground. 'Narco-tanks' are better characterized as improvised armored fighting vehicles (IAFVs)—portending a shift in the infantry-centric nature of the cartel battlespace."